Warbird Information Exchange

I went to the museum the other day and took several hundred pictures of my favorite planes. They have a truly amazing collection and I felt like a kid in a candy store. The displays are done well and many of the aircraft have top down view access which is a great way to see the planes. The P-61 and Do-335 were my favorites and it was great to see Enola Gay well displayed.
The lighting is tough for photography and you really need a wide angle lense. They are building a new restoaration facility soon which means bringing over many more planes from Garber.

OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!! I've got drool all over my keyboard

That place is really nice since they got some Japanese aircraft!

Fantastic photos Chuck. The place will look even better soon when the Connie goes on display!!

You gotta love the new place.

Real nice photographs under challenging circumstances, Chuck. Thanks.

I was pu on the observation not much more than arm's distance from the Corsair and P-40, along with a young family. The daughter, lovely and adorable in the way that third or fourth graders can be is holding her father's hand as she looks up at him and asks, "Daddy, were those planes alive before they came here?"

I hope he explained the truth to her.

Great pictures! Got any close-ups of the 307 Stratoliner or the Shuttle?

Please define Wide-angle lens. Just so I understand before I make my trip down there someday.

I already know I will need several 2-Gig memory cards but if I also need a new lens that would be good to know.

Edit:
Great shots! I just love the looks of the Fw-190s (not sure I could have said that if I was in WW2 but...)

Tim

Absolutely agree that Udvar-Hazy is a fantastic place to visit! Was there for the opening and it is nice to see so many "new" additions.

Now, I know it has been asked before and I am certainly NOT looking to pick a fight here, but, would it not make more sense to put money into putting all of "Flak Bait" on display or "Swoose"? Let me say sorry ahead of time, but for my money, I would much rather see those two American aircraft with such a rich history behind them on display than all of the time, money and resources that have gone into restoring the one-of-a-kind Japanese and German aircraft on display. Even if Flak Bait and Swoose went on display unrestored like the P-38 and P-61 would be great!

Just my humble opinion...donning the flame suit now!

So I have to ask - is the AR234 really that small? In the pics above, it actually looks just a bit bigger than the FW190! Somehow, I always pictured it bigger.

Chuck -

Thanks for the wonderful pics!

Mike

Tim...I've taken a bunch there with my wide angle. It's a Canon 10-22mm. Turned out quite nicely. Gotta' be careful with some of the shots 'cause the lens will distort the foreground. You're welcome to use my 10-22 if you've got a Canon 20D. That's the only camera it'll fit. Let me know. I'm only about an hour from Udvar-Hazy.

Mudge the helpful

i went there a few years ago with my family but i wish my family was interested in it as much as i was b/c i would of stayed for many many many hours.

Very nice pictures! I look forward to visiting one day soon myself. Is there any aircraft that are open to walk through like the 707 or Concorde. Thanks.

6trn4brn wrote:. Even if Flak Bait and Swoose went on display unrestored like the P-38 and P-61 would be great!

Just wanted to say that the P-38 and hte P-61 have been restored. The weathered look of the p-38 was intentional as that is how they looked in service. At least according to NASM's sources and what not. The P-61 is a bit more unique or a restoration. The aircraft servered various organisations in various manners. The paint was carefully stripped to various layers to showcase the various markings applied to it over the years. To my understanding both are fully restored internally.